Erin Bock writes:
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reconsider a ruling that plaintiffs in Amnesty v. Blai had standing to sue the US government over surveillance. The plaintiffs, including attorneys, journalists and rights organizations, facially challenged Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [50 USC § 1881(a)], which was added by the FISA Amendments ACT of 2008 (FAA) [HR 6304 materials].
… A 2009 ruling from the US District Court in Manhattan dismissed the suit after finding the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because they did not suffer an injury in fact. A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit determined that the plaintiffs had standing [JURIST report] because the law put them in a “lose-lose” situation whereby they could continue with their activities and risk monitoring or they could incur financial and professional costs in order to avoid monitoring.
Read more on JURIST.
Once again, President Obama demonstrates that he is no better than his predecessor in terms of civil liberties and protection from government surveillance. Sadly, he has lived down to the concerns I had raised about his position on FISA/FAA when he was still a Senator.